Intended for around 6th grade, covers tone/mood; short story; urban legends; Shakespeare; satire; British spellings and vocabulary; oxymorons; science and other specialized vocabulary; diagramming; modifiers; progressive tense; summaries; profile essays; news articles and slogan; gift poems and profile essays.
Grammar Galaxy: Blue Star (Volume 5) is a complete language arts curriculum for elementary students (sixth graders or students who have completed Red Star or its equivalent).
Short, comical stories teach concepts in a memorable way. Students discover the havoc that ensues when the evil Gremlin tampers with the English language. Bleak is the mood and sarcastic is the tone set for the galaxy for a month. Parallel structure is banned after a gymnast's accident. The Onomatopoeia Union goes on strike and these words are unavailable.
The royal English children invite students to become fellow grammar guardians in order to save the galaxy from crises like these. Teachers or students read the text themselves. Vocabulary words are defined in the text. Discussion questions follow each lesson to check for understanding. Students then complete a corresponding mission in the mission manual that reinforces the concepts. Teachers provide as much help as necessary.
Grammar Galaxy: Blue Star, the fifth in a series of language arts texts for first to eighth graders, teaches:
*literary concepts
*vocabulary
*spelling strategies
*grammar
*composition and speaking
Grammar Galaxy: Blue Star is a great choice for homeschoolers, teachers, and parents:
*Whose student is at the 6th grade level or above or has mastered Red Star skills
*Who want their student to have excellent reading, writing, and speaking skills
*Who want their student to spend less time doing seatwork and more time reading and writing
Grammar Galaxy is a unique and engaging language arts program for students in elementary, middle school, and even high school! Former clinical psychologist Dr. Melanie Wilson cleverly disguises this language arts program to recruit your students to save the Grammar Galaxy from the evil Gremlin. The Gremlin is wreaking havoc around the galaxy. Helping verbs no longer help! Idioms have become literal! Suffixes drop! The royal family needs your help! If it sounds unconventional, then you have it right. This is not your typical grammar course!
Each level has two components:
Students can start with Nebula and progress through the series or enter at the appropriate grade levels. These grade suggestions are general guidelines. Here is a link to the placement quiz from the publisher’s website. You may also find the program’s Scope and Sequence helpful when determining the correct entry level for your student.
The lessons (excuse me, missions) in this curriculum start by reading aloud the Text’s approximately 10-minute chapter mysteries (older grade-level readers can do so independently, but with some parental assistance). Next, the student completes short missions by writing or dictating (for younger students) using the required Mission Manual (consumable student worktext). Missions are grouped by topic, allowing a mastery-based approach to English. Each mission follows a three-step process to complete throughout the week or in a long class period. Vocabulary words are taken from the story.
Step by step, students will read the chapter mission and then solve missions using the Manual. As students complete tasks in this imaginary galaxy, they will learn the nuts and bolts of language arts: literature, vocabulary, spelling, grammar, composition, and speaking (no phonics or handwriting instruction). While each of these topics is covered yearly, subskills are taught with a mastery intent and will vary and build upon previous years.
For example, the following topics are presented in these levels:
Based on your student and your language arts goals, you may want to annually add concept review and additional literature reading to strengthen skills.
The Nova (7th) and Supernova (8th) levels are designed as a grammar overview of all the previous volumes. Older students without previous Grammar Galaxy experience may start with the Nova level. Find extra course resources at www.FunToLearnBooks.com, like the author’s blog and podcast.
For older students or those needing a harder challenge, look for the Advanced Guardian assignments. After each unit, including several missions each, students complete 10-question Challenge tests. Once these are passed, students can move on to the next unit.
High school students needing a tidy grammar course with the fun flair of Grammar Galaxy can look into Fast Grammar: High School Training Levels 1 and 2. The premise is that autocorrect is broken. It’s fast, fictional, and fun!
~ Ruth/Sara
| Product Format: | Paperback |
|---|---|
| Brand: | Fun to Learn Books |
| Grade: | 6 |
| ISBN: | 9781735493909 |
| Length in Inches: | 10 |
| Width in Inches: | 8 |
| Height in Inches: | 0.5 |
| Weight in Pounds: | 1 |
